Catholic Sports Radio
306 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 days ago - ★★★★★ - 23 ratingsHelping listeners find the right balance and priority when it comes to their faith life versus their sports life, interviews are done with guests who are Catholics in sports - current or former athletes, coaches, officials, clergy, administrators, and more, from the pro, amateur, and scholastic ranks. Whether you're an athlete or a fan, youth or adult, Catholic or not, this show will deliver content that speaks to you and provides opportunities for ongoing reflection for your daily life.
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Episodes
CSR 29 Cam Cameron
August 19, 2019 07:00 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBHe spent many years in the National Football League, as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, plus he was the offensive coordinator for both the Baltimore Ravens and the then-San Diego Chargers. He was also quarterbacks’ coach of the Washington Redskins. In addition, he has many years of experience coaching in college football as well, most recently as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks’ coach at LSU. He also went through two health scares in the form of serious melanoma and later a prostate...
CSR 28 Sue Moucha
August 12, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBA four-time member of Team USA for the Paralympics, winning seven medals - two silver and three bronze in swimming, and two GOLD in running. She set one world record in swimming and holds two American records in swimming. In all she has amassed an amazing 250 trophies from able-bodied competitions. A lifelong Catholic, she was also a 1996 Olympic torchbearer.
CSR 27 Tom Scott
August 05, 2019 07:15 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBA Team USA competitor in karate, he has participated in a long, long, LONG list of events ranging from Pan American Games to World Championships, the World Games, and more, having won numerous gold, silver, and bronze medals nationally and internationally. He attended Texas Christian University where he met his now wife, who is also Catholic.
27th episode, with Tom Scott
August 05, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "The way I really see sport is, it's always been my number one communication tool with God. He's always pointed out to me where I can improve my life in becoming a better person. So, not just a better athlete." "Sometimes that fear of losing, when sport weighs so much on athletes’ hearts, it can hinder their ability to perform at their best. So, really, my faith does allow me to let go of some of those fears of winning, losing, and just play the game to please God. So, it r...
CSR 26 Rich Donnelly
July 29, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBCurrently the manager of the Kingsport Mets, he coached in the major leagues for over 25 years, most recently as third base coach with the Seattle Mariners but other stops along the way that included a World Series ring with the Florida Marlins in 1997. He was even a part of the Team USA coaching staff two years ago at the World Baseball Classic, which was won by the Americans. Rich talks about tragedy that he and his family had to overcome, as well as coming back to his Catholic roots after...
26th episode, with Rich Donnelly
July 29, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "I had visions of being a priest until I went to the seminary and found out they didn't have a baseball team." "When I got into pro (base)ball, I had this fallacy that you couldn't be a man of faith and be a baseball player." "I would crawl on my hands and knees... all the way through a parking lot... to get into my car so nobody would see me go to church'." "There was something inside of me that said, 'Rich, the place where you love to be, besides a baseball field, is ...
CSR 25 Steven Lopez
July 22, 2019 07:15 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBA five-time Olympian, he won a gold medal in taekwondo at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Games and then a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. He is also a five-time world champion. Born in New York to Nicaraguan parents, he has had a lifelong walk with Christ as a Catholic and uses this CSR appearance to witness to such, including having had to get through an unfortunate incident last year.
25th episode, with Steven Lopez
July 22, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "The most important thing has been my faith, with all the struggles, the challenges, the obstacles that we all face. There isn't one of us that is not without struggle. And as an athlete, specifically, of course, ... we can always push harder, we can do one more rep, we can run a little faster... And the same thing goes with the spirit. And I think that's THE most important thing... Are you gonna feed the soul? Are you gonna feed the spirit?" "Without our Lord and savior Je...
CSR 24 Taylor Schroll
July 15, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 24 MBA four-sport athlete in high school, he ran track in college, at a Catholic university -- including competing against some Olympians -- and today is a coach for the boys track team at a Catholic high school in Texas, where he has guided them to a many "firsts" in school history, such as district champs, regional champs, and medals at the State meet. A father of three, he also is a full-time missionary and hosts a Catholic podcast too!
24th episode, with Taylor Schroll
July 15, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "I fell in love with a basketball before I ever fell in love with anything, like God, my family, I loved basketball from a very young age." "I was a college freshman, I ran at Incarnate Word... My literally first race ever, it was an indoor meet, I ran the 60-meter dash and I got down on my blocks and I looked to the guy on the right. He looked very familiar and I quickly recalled that I watched him on TV the year before, winning the Big 12 Championship in the hundred." "...
CSR 23 Tom Lynn
July 08, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBAn attorney who is now an agent certified by the National Hockey League Players Association and has a long career in hockey as a front office executive, including as the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Administration and Legal Affairs of the NHL's Minnesota Wild (2000 to 2009). He wrote the book, “How to Build an NHL Franchise from Scratch: The First Era of the Minnesota Wild.” He talks here about overcoming the stigma - the labels that people put - on being an agent, plus h...
23rd episode, with Tom Lynn
July 08, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "Most of the outside world's reaction to hearing my father was a lawyer was always negative. And then kind of going out into the world myself and becoming an attorney initially it was a similar thing. Then I joined an NHL team as an executive and it was the opposite. It was almost like nothing I could do was wrong, living in a hockey state. It would be like a football executive in Texas or a basketball executive in Indiana. And so, all a sudden the script was flipped. And the...
CSR 22 Chris Gomez
July 01, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 24 MBHe played college hockey and now coaches in that sport, while serving as the Board President for Catholic Sports Camps. (His father had run a hockey camp in the 1980s with the Chicago Blackhawks.) All that despite having also attended (for graduate school) the largest Catholic university in the United States, because, he talks here of being called back to the church after falling away after he left his parents' house, having been raised a cradle Catholic.
22nd episode, with Chris Gomez
July 01, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "When I was going through (graduate school), still, no relationship with our Lord and, it's funny that I picked a Catholic university. It just seemed to be the one that was, just kind of like, made the most sense based off of the notoriety of it and the proximity to where I was working at the time." "I feel like God loves to use the most unlikely sources to work miracles." "At (age) 30 I had a St. Paul conversion experience when he was on the road to Damascus." "There w...
CSR 21 Mike Gutelius
June 24, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 23.8 MBThe head football coach at The Catholic University of America, which is located in our nation’s capital, although he has – in his words – experienced the differences of being a practicing Catholic in seven states and the District of Columbia. He is a lector in his current parish and did so – along with being the Chair of the Finance Council – at his previous parish as well. He begins his third season at Catholic University of America in 2019. In his first season the team tied a program recor...
21st episode, with Mike Gutelius
June 24, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "I've landed in some other places where... be it a state school, where you weren't even allowed to talk about God because that could be seen as some sort of endorsement." "I had to, carefully, without offending anybody, walk through the fact that what we wanted to receive was the true body, blood, soul and divinity, not just some sort of protestant representation of it." "The requirements to work here are that you will not undermine the church's mission or its teachings b...
CSR 20 Bob Fisher
June 17, 2019 07:15 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBA 25-time Guinness World Record holder for free throw shooting, he began coaching basketball in 1982. He had played high school basketball and went on to play in recreational leagues until he was 44. Born and raised Catholic, he is a member of the Knights of Columbus and joined Teams of Our Lady with his wife a couple years ago. Listen to hear how he connects with the Bible story about the five talents. Bob's accomplishments have taken him to "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," a TV program in...
20th episode, with Bob Fisher
June 17, 2019 07:00"I did not set my first Guinness World Record until the age of 52... And, looking back, it's easy to see how the Lord puts things in your life when it's a stepping stone through life." "The Bible verse that really sticks out with me is the parable of the talents... The parallel is... God has given us talents and it's up to us to develop those talents." "We all are given a certain number of gifts from the Lord and we need to develop those gifts." "We were from a large family, a family o...
CSR 19 Mark Van Guilder
June 10, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 24 MBHe played for the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators as well as many years with the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals, plus he has been playing pro hockey overseas in Europe (Italy, Norway, Switzerland). A cradle Catholic, he played his college hockey at Notre Dame and never missed a game (163 consecutive games).
19th episode, with Mark Van Guilder
June 10, 2019 07:00"Maybe wearing a wristband with a Bible verse or cross necklace, people kind of started approaching me about it, really. That's how it all kind of started. I'd share a wristband, I'd share something. Teammates would see me maybe sneaking off to church on a road trip." "Play to your strengths. You have strengths for a reason. Just let your actions do the talking." "It doesn't have to be scary, or, it doesn't have to be intimidating to kind of share your faith with people." "Think of the...
CSR 18 Megan Aaron
June 03, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBHaving just finished her collegiate career, she was a Division I soccer player for Troy University in Alabama. Prior to that she played her senior season at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School and served as the team's captain after having played three seasons at Whitney High School in Rocklin, California. Among other insights, she talks about marriage prep and her experience going on a mission trip this spring.
18th episode, with Megan Aaron
June 03, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "This world and Pinterest, as girls know, bombards you with how perfect (your wedding) day has to be and you lose focus on the fact that it's not a one-day event. This is the start of the rest of your life, and it's a covenant and it's a sacrament." "All these little things have continued to pop up throughout this whole wedding prep season. Like, the wedding of Cana, that was Jesus's first miracle, and it was to a married couple. It was at a wedding. That was His first ever...
CSR 17 Bailey Landry
May 27, 2019 07:15 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBShe has played softball for Team USA as well as professionally, plus she enjoyed a college career at LSU that consisted of three Women's College World Series appearances and her being named an All American two times. She is a relative newlywed and a cradle Catholic. Among other great reflections, she talks about the Catholic church in Thailand that she and her husband found on their honeymoon and why it was unique in terms of imagery.
17th episode, with Bailey Landry
May 27, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "It really scared me after my confirmation that I was no longer going to receive formal religious education. And so it really took me to step up and say okay well I want more, I want to dig in more, and now, knowing, okay, it's the gifts of the Holy Spirit, working in me, drawing me closer to him, I really dove in." "I was a brand new student-athlete in a whole new situation. It was just, a lot of different things were moving. But I was very lucky that at LSU, at Christ the...
CSR 16 Fr Chuck Dornquast
May 20, 2019 07:15 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBThe team priest for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he also played football himself in high school. He was just ordained four years ago and is currently at St. Lawrence in Tampa, Florida. He talks about what his role with the team entails as well as how he juggles that with his responsibilities to his parish. Plus he tells the story of his favorite moment from being on the sidelines.
16th episode, with Fr Chuck Dornquast
May 20, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "I'm a large guy but apparently I'm too friendly to be aggressive on the football field." "I showed up at my parish, which is right near where the Buccaneers have their training facility and one of their key staff members is actually a parishioner here at the parish and he came to Mass one Sunday and asked the pastor if we'd be interested in providing a priest to celebrate Mass for the team. And my pastor saw my eyes light up at the opportunity of celebrating Mass for the N...
CSR 15 Dr Joe Estwanik
May 13, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 23.8 MBAn orthopedic surgeon who is in the Carolina Boxing Hall of Fame. He is a past president of the Association of Ringside Physicians and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Sports Medicine Society. Born and raised Catholic, he was a weightlifter back in his college days and has gone on to be involved with sports internationally, serving as a ringside doctor for boxing and MMA to the tune of over ten thousand bouts that he has been present for in his career as a ringside doctor. Some yea...
15th episode, with Dr Joe Estwanik
May 13, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "The glory is the pros and the big shows and the worldwide pay-per-views, but when it comes down to it, they all start as youth." "When I'm a fan I love for it to be exciting. When I'm sitting in what I call the 'hot seat,' the ringside physician, the seat right at the ring, I hope for a boring fight." "I have loved this mission, especially taking care of the youth, the kids... I get a lot of youth, disadvantaged youth, who really haven't been exposed to a physician." "...
CSR 14 Sister Rita Clare Yoches
May 06, 2019 07:15 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBShe played professional football for four years after having previously been an athlete in another sport, having earned a full basketball scholarship to Detroit Mercy, where she played for four years. Last year she took her final vows and became a nun, and currently she is a campus minister at Florida State University. During this conversation you'll hear her say - among other observations - that she definitely sees the synergy between our faith life and our sports life.
14th episode, with Sister Rita Clare Yoches
May 06, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "My story... makes me a little bit relatable because (people) see something other than just the religious garb." "Playing aggressive sports and having a deep faith life can go together because Jesus is the ultimate warrior and the best athlete out there and, all of sports, they mirror our image of fighting for good over evil." "We are all children of God and that's the only thing that matters, and whatever we do beyond that is supposed to glorify God and it doesn't have t...
CSR 13 Theresa Feaster
April 29, 2019 07:15 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBThe Director of Hockey Operations at Providence College for the men's hockey team, she is a lifelong Catholic, the oldest of five children. Theresa attended Catholic elementary, high school (valedictorian), and college. She talks about working at a Catholic institution, the concept of people working together as a team, and the influence of her father on her career.
13th episode, with Theresa Feaster
April 29, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "The idea of God's providence and the idea of providence affecting everything we do is something that I've really come to appreciate, maybe, especially now that I'm older." "All these little things happen that maybe at the time you don't really fully understand but then you kind of look back and you go, 'Wow, that was all part of a path that I'm on now.' So, certainly the idea of divine providence is a huge part of (Providence College)." "You get this general sense of com...
CSR 12 Neal Pionk
April 22, 2019 07:15 - 22 minutes - 20.3 MBNew York Rangers defenseman Neal Pionk cautions parents about putting too high of a priority on a child's potential hockey career. Plus, he talks about being born into the Catholic faith and attending Catholic school (K-8), coming into the NHL, moving to and living in New York City, and what happened when he tried to attend Christmas Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
12th episode, with Neal Pionk
April 22, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "There's a lot more to life than just a sport." "Your hockey career only lasts for so long, from the time you're five or six years old until however long, 20, 30 years if you're fortunate. There's so much more to life after that." "Parents... think that this tryout or this game is the end-all, be-all. Well, it's not. Of course it's important and it's fun and there's a lot of good that can come out of it but at the end of the day hockey only lasts until you're 30, until yo...
CSR 11 Len Clark
April 15, 2019 07:15 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBHe covers University of Notre Dame Athletics for Irish 101 and Irish Illustrated, and is also the Notre Dame reporter for Fan Media. Len has also served as a reporter for ESPN Radio's "College Gameday," as a stringer for AP Sports. A lifelong Catholic, he is also heavily involved with the Knights of Columbus. He's also involved with a project that, when supported, gives a portion of the proceeds to help support research into Niemann-Pick Type C Disease.
11th episode, with Len Clark
April 15, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "Faith, Notre Dame, and emerging media has really been my path for the past 35 years." "When you walk in the classroom and you see the crucifix on every wall it's not cramming (Catholicism) into your face, it's there as a subtle reminder just to serve as a foundation for the individuals that have the privilege of going to school (at Notre Dame)." "We're talking about the new evangelization that has been out since Vatican II and really came to prominence under Pope John Pa...
CSR 10 Pat McCaskey
April 08, 2019 07:15 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MBA Chicago Bears’ Board Member and a Bears’ Vice President, he is the Chairman of Sports Faith International, which recognizes people who are successful in sports while leading exemplary lives. He is the author of six books (four about sports and faith) and participated in sports extensively as a student-athlete: basketball, baseball, football, track, and cross country, and currently runs Masters Track. His grandfather (and godfather) was George Halas, the founder of the Chicago Bears.
10th episode, with Pat McCaskey
April 08, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "God gave me the gift of writing and public speaking. He has been very, very good to me with those gifts and many other things." "When I was seven months in my mother's womb, she received the blessing for expectant mothers." "I am a lector at St. Mary's church and St. Patrick church in Lake Forest." "After dinner, after I finish my chores, I like to shoot free throws until I make ten." "My grandfather was a man of faith and a man of prayer." "My grandfather lived th...
CSR 9 Joe Mesi
April 01, 2019 18:57 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBA former heavyweight boxer who finished with a 36-0 won-lost record (29 KOs), getting to No. 1 in the world where he would've fought for the heavyweight title but suffered a serious head injury (brain bleed). Last year he was inducted into both the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. He had also been a 1996 U.S. Olympic alternate. Joe started a foundation called Champs Against Bullying and there is also the Baby Joe Mesi Fight for Organ Donors. Lis...
9th episode, with Baby Joe Mesi
April 01, 2019 07:00Guest quotes: "You want to say boxing in my life was an accident. It was almost like I stumbled upon it. But yet in life there are no accidents, right? It's the path God bestowed upon me." "God gave me this path for a reason. And as I look back and now, I'm an adult and I have a family, I'm able to clearly see that boxing was just the tool that God gave me. The goal was to give back." "We know boxing is a dangerous sport and I'd say a prayer before every fight and I'd go into my oppone...
CSR 8 Chris Ledyard
March 25, 2019 09:36 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBInducted into the Sports Faith Hall of Fame in 2015, the next year he became the Athletic Director at JSerra Catholic High School after more than 20 years at the helm of the athletic program at Franciscan University. Before that he was a Catholic high school vice principal. Married with six children, he was a college athlete (wrestler at Ithaca College) and has coached track and field, soccer, and wrestling.
8th episode, with Chris Ledyard
March 25, 2019 07:00Guest quotes "I was at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and I really felt the call from the Lord to go there after being a high school vice principal for six years." "I was the token Christian dude on the wrestling team. And I really didn't know how to act. It was very difficult to stay in the faith, keep the faith, amongst people who thought my faith was silly and that it was kind of a joke." "I know that that was the Lord... preparing my heart for the reason that I wanted...
CSR 7 Jimmy Osting
March 18, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBHe's a cradle Catholic, having attended Catholic grammar and high schools, his kids are altar servers, and oh, he just happens to have pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres (drafted by the Atlanta Braves) and recently was a guest instructor at San Francisco Giants spring training. Listen to how he is teaching more than just baseball techniques to kids at his academy.
7th episode, with Jimmy Osting
March 18, 2019 07:00Guest quotes “For younger kids that I deal with on a daily basis… there are options out there – to do what they want to do and be where they need to be.” “You have to kind of find your path and make what works for you you.” “At those times of adversity, that’s when you find out what your faith is really about.” “I was very blessed with a family background of being grounded and keeping both feet firmly on the ground and working hard and understanding that your faith comes first. Witho...
CSR 6 Jim Sweeney
March 11, 2019 07:15 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBFeatured in an ESPN "30 for 30" called "Playing for the Mob," he stood strong during the Boston College (basketball) point-shaving scandal, sticking to his moral roots and not taking a bribe. He is still involved with the sport today as the Head of USA on the international board for FIMBA - the worldwide governing body for Masters basketball (with federations in 47 countries). Within the past two years he has not only recruited American senior players and organized USA teams, but, he has als...
6th episode, with Jim Sweeney
March 11, 2019 07:00Guest quotes "I... went to the Church of the Holy Cross for my first eight years of schooling... I'm still in touch with Sister Barbara Ann, who was my seventh grade teacher... I hear from her every year." "As far as I'm concerned, 40 years later after this happened, life has not been good, life has been great!" (press conference excerpt) "I think it's only fitting that I... thank God for basketball, not just for the points I've scored or the games that I've won, but the people that I ...
CSR 5 Joe DeLamielleure
March 04, 2019 08:15 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBA Pro Football Hall of Famer (Buffalo Bills, 1973-79, 1985 and Cleveland Browns, 1980-84) who is also being inducted into a Catholic hall of fame. He also is on the Board for an orphanage in Mexico, for which he helped raise funding by riding his bike there all the way from Michigan! He also obtains Super Bowl tickets every year to help in raising money, along with a NFL Legends Golf Outing, for that orphanage.
5th episode, with Joe DeLamielleure
March 04, 2019 08:00Guest quotes "They asked (my wife) when I got in the Hall of Fame, 'When did you meet your husband,' and she said, 'When do you meet your brother?' ... We've just always known each other. God has blessed us." "The biggest deal my mum and dad would always say is, 'You're going to church. No matter what, you're going to church.' And, it just sunk in to all the kids. And I go to Mass every day now. I always have." "We adopted two Korean boys... Then I started coaching high school football...
CSR 4 Mike Candrea
February 25, 2019 08:15 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBCoached Team USA to the Olympic gold medal in 2004 in Athens and the silver medal in 2008 in Beijing in women's softball, but, ten days before the 2004 Games he lost his wife unexpectedly to a brain aneurysm. Now entering his 34th season as the head softball coach (women's softball) at the University of Arizona, he is also the Division I wins leader in NCAA softball history and has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame. He talks about his faith journey, including his involvement with the...
4th episode, with Mike Candrea
February 25, 2019 08:00Guest quotes "I think anytime you're trying to strive for excellence the toughest part is to try to find that balance; balance between your family, your profession, and then for me it was my faith." "My faith is very important to me. It was something that, at times I was missing because unfortunately in our game we play a lot of games on Sundays, which I've always kind of been confused about because what are we teaching young people? We're telling them how important balance is yet we're ...